Build a Hanging Chalkboard

$3.00

The Build a Chalkboard Kit comes with everything you need to quickly put together a chalkboard with a custom message in the color of your choosing . Hang your customized chalkboard on a newborn bed prop to create a set that announces baby’s Name, weight and height. This kit is very easy to use. All the files are exactly the same size and layer on top of each other perfectly. So be sure you don’t re-size any files! In fact you should probably save a back up somewhere just in case. The files are also numbered to keep you from placing a layer out of order. Start by opening one of the chalkboard files. If you want to change the color drag in the chalkboard color fill file and rasterize the layer. Then select the area to be filled (hold the control key while clicking on the rectangle next to the color fill layer in the layers panel). Select the color you want to use and use the paint bucket to change the color of the layer. Change the mode of the layer to the look you desire. I like Multiply, Soft Light and Overlay. Drag in a texture layer if you you like and adjust the opacity and mode in the layers panel to your liking (I like Multiply, Soft Light and Overlay for this too). Add the desired text to your chalk board. There are plenty of Chalk Text Effect tutorials on YouTube.com. However, the chalkboard is usually a pretty small piece of my photo, so changing the text layer to dissolve mode and adding a slight Gaussian blur usually does the trick just fine. Save your image as a .png file. Then drag your saved .png file into your image. Add a shadow layer beneath it using a soft brush in soft light mode with a very low opacity. Wow your newborn parents by using this in combination with the Calendar and Nightstand/Alarm Clock Kits to tastefully display all of babies birth stats in your image. Or have your clients hold a piece of cardboard and replace it in post production with a chalk board that matches their outfit and displays a personal message, I did in the example image.